Just my second build. I got a copy of Building and Detailing…
He writes of using mostly super glue, and using it for filler. I used Testors liquid cement on my fuselage. I can sand down the seam in places, and get to the welded part so the joint disappears, but not so successful other places.
I am NOT talking about the area between the holes. In front of the holes and behind them. I hope it shows in the picture, there is a line there where the pieces are joined. Some areas look quite good, others I was able to sand down until they looked good, others look as though I will have to sand until I have it flattened out before the joint/seam will go away.
Mask off both sides of the seam so you dont sand away any details. If you do sand off some detail...like panel lines...youll need a scribing tool or a heavy needle in a pin vise to re-scribe them. A lot of people, including myself, use Dymo label maker tape for a straight edge…you`ll never do it free hand…lol.
Your seam doesn`t look too bad to me. When you think you have the seam nice and smooth, spray or brush a little silver paint over it…if you missed something the silver will make it easy to see.
Every build is an experiment and a lesson. Seam looks like a good start. I like the tip about masking tape. This forum is the best way to learn new techniques.
Best way to fix a seam like that, is to build it up first, with some putty/filler. Then, once it’s dried, you can sand it down to the surrounding contour without flattening it out.
I like Gunze Sangyo Mr. Surfacer 500, for those jobs. It thins with rubbing alcohol, so a lot of times, you don’t even need to sand. If you can’t find GS, Tamiya makes a full line of putties for this application.
Testor’s Contour Putty thins with alcohol too, and wet-sands nicely… Keep in mind that putties shrink as they dry, and using a primer-surfacer will fill those tiny sand-scratches… Most rattle-can grey primers work pretty well for that, and Wal-Mart’s Tru-Color gray primer matches the US Neutral Gray pretty well…
I had some tiny slivers of gap in a few places on the wings. I thinned some testors contour and applied. As usual I get it smeared places I wish I hadn’t, but results look OK. Not brave enough yet to lay some paint on it [:)]
You can see where the holes in the leading edge do not line up well. I can see why filling and redrilling could be a good idea.
I am concerned about the landing gear; it had to be glued on before the two wing pieces could be put together, and I do not have a lot of confidence that I have the proper angle.
My camera does not do a good job on the macro photos.
Most leave the landing gear off until the plane is almost complete, also all the detail bits like MG’s, antennas, pilot tubes etc. The reasoning being these items are easily broken off as you need to handle the model a lot more before its complete.
Another reason is painting. Its easier to paint a part a different color if it is not attached to the model!
All lessons learned. The main thing is to complete your model and move onto the next project!
Filler tip:
Not sure about Testors, Tamiya putty can be applied & swiped off (excess) before its cured with a Q-tip dipped in nail polish remover. (acidtone) This works better on concave areas like wing roots, not so much with convex contour’s like the wing seam you showed. The acidtone is aggressive so work quick with one pass. Adequate ventilation & practice first on something other than your model. Also roll the Q-tip at the same time, you need fresh solvent & cotton for this to work.
I had some tiny slivers of gap in a few places on the wings. I thinned some testors contour and applied. As usual I get it smeared places I wish I hadn’t, but results look OK. Not brave enough yet to lay some paint on it
The same way its a good idea to mask both sides of a seam to avoid sanding off detail by accident, its also a good idea to mask off the seam BEFORE you apply the putty to keep it off places it doesn`t belong. I learned this lesson the hard way…the more careful I tried to be,the more putty I smeared all over the place…lol.
I can’t add too much to what has been said already. I find one of the best ways to avoid putty is to get the seam right the first time if you can . Hawkeye has a great tutorial here and here if you want to wander off and read it.
In this case I didn’t know how to deal with the landing gear, I would have had to cut it up in order to fit it in after the wing parts had been glued together. The model was built in such a way so that the landing gear would not fit in the way it was designed to after the wings were together.
Note, I’m not saying it couldn’t be done, only that I don’t yet have the confidence to start cutting pieces up [:$]
Thanks for all the help.
The next challenge will be the wings to the fuselage.
That AeroScale post is superb. Looks like I have to read some more. Don’t you understand I want to glue, glue, glue??
How many of you have experience with the weld on and touch n flow? Looks like fun.
Although it looks like you’ve already glued the top wing to bottom, sometimes (depending upon the kit fit) it is better to glue the top wings to fuselage first, then the bottom piece (adjust the wing dihedral). It helps to minimize the wing root gaps.
